Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 421 The Old Madam's Admonition

After finishing his meal, Lin Chen wiped his mouth, stood up, walked to the old lady's side, and reached out to support her arm.

"Grandmother, let me take you back to your room."

The old lady glanced at Lin Chen but didn't say anything.

He stood up, leaned on his cane, and slowly walked outside.

Lin Chen helped the old lady out of the dining room, and Su Wanqing followed behind. The three of them walked slowly along the covered walkway.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the roof, casting patches of light on the ground like scattered gold.

The old lady walked slowly, each step steady.

The cane tapped on the bluestone slab, tap, tap, tap, like a heartbeat, one beat at a time, unhurried and unhurried.

Lin Chen didn't urge him, but followed slowly, his steps as slow as the old lady's.

After walking for a while, the old lady suddenly spoke up: "How was the morning court session?"

Lin Chen considered it for a moment and said, "It's alright."

"What does 'okay' mean?"

Lin Chen smiled and said, "His Majesty bestowed upon me the title of a peerless king, with the honorific title of Qian, the King of Zhenji Qian."

The old lady paused for a moment, then continued walking.

"Anything else?"

Lin Chen coughed lightly: "And... His Majesty is pregnant."

"Got it? Got it what?"

Lin Chen touched his nose: "She's pregnant."

The old lady stopped and turned to look at Lin Chen.

That look in her eyes was hard to describe – whether it was joy or something else entirely – she just stared at Lin Chen for several seconds.

"How many months?"

"Three months."

The old lady paused for a moment, then sighed, "It took you three months to come back."

Lin Chen opened his mouth, as if to explain something.

The old lady waved her hand: "Alright, that's enough. I know you're out there taking care of business."

She continued walking forward, took two steps, and then said, "A king standing shoulder to shoulder with a single character, this is both a good thing and a bad thing."

Lin Chen listened attentively.

"The good thing is that you will be second only to the emperor in the Great Yan Dynasty. The bad thing is that you will be tied to the royal family from now on, and you will be inseparable from them."

Lin Chen nodded: "I know."

The old lady glanced at him and said, "It's good that you know."

She paused, then said, "When your father was alive, what he feared most was getting too close to the royal family. He said, 'Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Today you may be a meritorious official, but tomorrow you may be a criminal.'"

The old lady's voice was a little deep: "So he spent his whole life fighting on the border and never got involved in court affairs. But you, you're the first to follow His Majesty... never mind, I won't say anymore."

She waved her hand, as if chasing away something unpleasant.

"I can't and don't want to interfere in your affairs. I only ask one thing of you."

Lin Chen tightened his grip on the old lady's hand: "Grandmother, please speak."

The old lady stopped, turned around, and looked into Lin Chen's eyes.

He said, word by word, "No matter what happens in the future, you must protect this family. The Lin family bloodline must not be broken."

Lin Chen nodded emphatically, his voice soft but firm: "Grandmother, rest assured, as long as your grandson is here, the home is here."

The old lady smiled and reached out to pat Lin Chen's hand.

"Alright, that's enough."

She walked a little further ahead.

Suddenly, he asked, "What do you plan to do with that girl from Dongli?"

Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment: "Which one?"

The old lady glared at Lin Chen: "Which one are you talking about? The one with Shan Ling something-ya."

Lin Chen coughed lightly: "Grandmother, this..."

The old lady snorted, "You're really getting more and more out of line."

Lin Chen smiled guiltily.

The old lady said slowly, "Last night, I asked Lan Fenghuang about it, and that girl didn't dare to hide anything from me; she told me everything."

Lin Chen's lips twitched.

Blue Phoenix, Blue Phoenix, why do you say all sorts of things?

"So," the old lady looked at him, "what do you plan to do?"

Lin Chen honestly confessed, "She'll be living here from now on."

I'm currently reading Chapter 421 of the novel, "The Old Madam's Admonition," and I'm completely engrossed in it.

The old lady snorted again: "I knew it."

She paused, then added, "Alright, be mindful of the impact. Don't go too far, lest you set a bad example for your child."

Su Wanqing followed behind without saying a word.

Suddenly, he reached out and gently pinched Lin Chen's ear.

"Hiss—" Lin Chen grimaced, "Mother, please be gentle."

Su Wanqing glared at him, her hand not exerting force, but her eyes were fierce:

"Can't you just shut up for a second? It's one thing to see girls, but why are you having those kinds of thoughts?"

Lin Chen didn't dare to talk back and obediently let himself be twisted.

Su Wanqing twisted her hand twice, then let go and sighed, "Fine, you won't listen anyway, but there's one condition—"

She looked at Lin Chen, her eyes turning serious: "This is a one-time exception."

Lin Chen nodded quickly: "No, no, absolutely not, don't worry."

Su Wanqing sighed again, shook her head, and didn't know what to do with her son.

The three continued walking forward.

As they approached the entrance to the old lady's courtyard, she stopped and turned around.

"Oh, right."

"Um?"

"What are you going to do with those girls in the side courtyard?"

Lin Chen was taken aback: "What girl?"

The old lady glared at Lin Chen and slammed her cane on the ground.

"Have you forgotten about those gifts from various countries?"

Lin Chen blinked and tried hard to recall.

Oh, I remember now.

Previously, he had made breakthroughs and given birth to a son, so various countries fawned over him and sent him a batch of girls.

Seeing Lin Chen's expression, the old lady angrily slammed her cane down again.

"You! That girl lives here with you, eats and drinks your food, and you don't even bother to look at her. What kind of behavior is that?"

Lin Chen awkwardly touched his nose: "I've been busy..."

"Busy?" the old lady interrupted him. "Busy with what? Busy taking care of your mother-in-law?"

Lin Chen awkwardly touched his nose: "I've been busy..."

"Busy?" the old lady interrupted him. "Busy with what? Busy taking care of your mother-in-law?"

Lin Chen was speechless, choked by the words.

Su Wanqing couldn't help but burst out laughing, but quickly managed to suppress it.

The old lady waved her hand: "Alright, alright, go visit when you have time, don't let the young lady think that our Lin family doesn't know how to behave."

Lin Chen nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, yes, grandson knows, I will definitely go and see."

The old lady was finally satisfied and turned to go into the courtyard.

Su Wanqing followed him inside, and when she reached the door, she glanced back at Lin Chen.

That look in his eyes contained helplessness, heartache, and a hint of "I really can't do anything with you, kid."

She shook her head and went inside.

Lin Chen stood at the entrance of the courtyard and took a deep breath.

He was still thinking about what the old lady had just said.

Those girls in the side courtyard...

To be honest, he really forgot.

However, the old lady is right. When you're under someone's roof, it's really not right not to go and check on them.

Let's do it another day.

Let's skip it today.

He turned and walked toward the study, his steps neither fast nor slow.

As I passed by the garden, I saw Blue Phoenix squatting by the flowerbed, fiddling with something.

Lan Fenghuang looked up and saw Lin Chen, then smiled and asked, "Have you finished seeing Grandmother off?"

Lin Chen walked over, stopped, and looked at Lan Fenghuang.

Lan Fenghuang felt uneasy under Lin Chen's gaze: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lin Chen said quietly, "You told Grandma everything about me?"

Lan Fenghuang wasn't guilty at all. "If the old lady asked me, would I dare to lie?"

Lin Chen's lips twitched: "Then at least don't say everything."

Lan Fenghuang stood up, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and said confidently:

"What if the old lady hears about it from elsewhere and thinks I concealed the truth? If she blames me then, will you take the blame for me?"

Lin Chen opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't refute it.

Lan Fenghuang waved her hand with a smile: "Alright, alright, stop standing around here, go do your work."

Lin Chen sighed and turned to continue walking towards the study.